New Faculty Senator Orientation
May 9, 2012
Welcome Senators!
David Zeh
Faculty Senate Chair
Chair and Professor of Biology
The Faculty Senate
• UNR Faculty Senate
– elected body of 30-33 faculty members,
representing all major units (colleges and
administrative units)
• Faculty Senate Bylaws provide for operation of
Senate
• Leader of Senate is the Chair
– elected from Senate
– serves one year as Chair-Elect, one year as Chair,
and final year as ex-officio Past Chair
Shared Governance
• What is shared governance?
– set of practices under which college faculty and staff participate in significant
decisions concerning operation of their institutions
– academic decision-making should be largely independent of short-term
managerial and political considerations
– faculty and professional staff are in best position to shape and implement
curriculum and research policy, and to select academic colleagues and judge
their work
– the perspective of all front-line personnel is invaluable in making sound
decisions about allocating resources, setting goals, choosing top officers and
guiding student life
• Effective Senate is focused on long-term interests of university, not short-term
interests of individual faculty
• Faculty Senate needs good working relationships with administration to be
effective, but also must be independent of it
• Faculty Senate most effective when its recommendations are clear and
reasonable, with policy alternatives considering both pros and cons
NSHE: Nevada System of Higher
Education
• Nine faculty senates in the system:
– CSN, GBC, DRI, NSC, TMCC, SA, WNC,
UNLV, UNR
• 13 Regents
• Senate chairs advise Regents
Faculty Senate Chair
• Official spokesperson for Senate and
UNR Faculty at large
• Expected to support all senate actions
and represent interests of entire faculty
• Expected to advocate for shared
governance, with attention to both Code
and Bylaws
• Serves on President’s Council
• Meets regularly with Provost
• Represents faculty before Regents and
Chancellor’s Office
• Oversees faculty grievance process
Faculty Senate Executive Board
The Chair is advised by the
Executive Board, consisting of
– Chair-Elect who serves as
vice-chair
– Parliamentarian, elected
annually
– Two at-large members,
elected annually
– Immediate Past Chair and
Senate Manager serve on
Executive Board as ex-officio
members
What Do Senators Do?
Senator’s Responsibilities
• Attend all regularly scheduled and
special senate meetings. If you are
unable to attend a meeting, assign a
proxy.
• Familiarize yourself with the Faculty
Senate Bylaws, UNR Bylaws, and
NSHE Code.
• Be prepared for the Senate meetings
ahead of time. Review the agenda, and
read all reports and informational items.
• Report on the business of the senate to
your constituents, and ask them for
input on action items.
More Responsibilities
• Send your ideas for senate
agenda topics to Executive Board
• When retiring or resigning from
senate, assist your unit in its
election to fill vacancy
• Speak up in senate meetings!
– your opinions and input are
important
Robert’s Rules of Order
• Parliamentarian advises Chair on procedural
matters
• Faculty Senate tradition
– conduct informal and more relaxed meetings
than suggested by Robert’s Rules of Order
• When necessary, Chair will invoke version of
rules of debate
– Chair will announce rules prior to opening
floor to discussion
Committees
• Senate charges standing and ad-hoc committees
annually
– committees advise Senate on issues of concern
• Executive Board selects chair and members from
faculty at large
• Executive Board oversees committees, and
reviews all committee reports and
recommendations before they come to Senate
Current Standing Committees
• Academic Standards
• Administrative Faculty Personnel Policies &
Procedures
• Bylaws & Code
• Campus Affairs
• Executive Board Nominating
• Salary & Benefits
• Research and Grants
Committee Reports
• After review by Executive Board, committee reports are
presented to Senate by committee’s chair
• Committee reports contain both general findings and specific
recommendations
– available at least a week ahead of Senate meeting
• Committee’s report is first accepted by the Senate, if the
Senate believes the committee has completed its charges
– implies neither endorsement nor approval of its
recommendations, but indicates committee did its job
• Senate may then choose to approve, amend, or reject
specific recommendations
– once approved, these generally become Requests for
Action (RFAs), and are sent to President
The Agenda
• Executive Board sets Agenda in response to
events, requests, and reports
• Agenda sent to Senators at least five days ahead of
meeting
• Agenda may be modified during meeting by Chair,
with unanimous consent
• Agenda is not a precise timetable, and we may run
over when the Chair thinks it necessary to let
people have their say
Normal Order of Business
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Chair convenes meeting once quorum is met
Roll, introductions
Consent Agenda – including minutes and UAM changes
Committee liaisons are sometimes asked to report
Chair reports
Visitors
Presentation of reports and items for information or action
New business
Chair adjourns the meeting — motion not needed
Quorum, et cetera
• According to Faculty Senate Bylaws, a quorum is
more than one-half the senate representation
– meetings will convene only when a quorum is
present
– once quorum is established, it remains, regardless
of number of senators who leave meeting
• Senate meetings are long, and sometimes run over
time
– please remain patient, and respect importance of
Senate’s business
Do you have the floor?
• If you wish to speak, raise your hand to be recognized by
Chair
– Chair-Elect assists Chair by keeping track of who has
raised their hand and in what order, so you don’t have to
keep your hand up
• Chair may sometimes invoke a two-minute rule for
questions or comments
– gives everyone a chance to speak without going too far off
schedule
• Please keep side conversations to a minimum
• Visitors may speak to Senate, time permitting, once all
Senators have had a chance to speak
– they must first be recognized by the Chair
Motions and Votes
• Senator (other than Chair) must make a motion to bring most
matters to a vote
– motion must be seconded by another senator
• Seconded motion is discussed before being voted on
• A seconded motion must be voted on or withdrawn before
another motion may be considered, unless a “friendly
amendment” is accepted
• Action items may be tabled until a later meeting, if so moved,
seconded, and approved
• A straw poll or straw vote is not a motion
– it is a method by which Chair can ascertain whether there is
consensus on a topic
Voting
• Each senator entitled to one vote and may vote as proxy for
one other senator from same major unit
• Senators may always abstain, and should do so in presence
of any conflict of interest
• The Chair may not vote except to break a tie
• The Chair-elect, Past Chair, and the Senate Manager may not
vote
• The senate usually votes by voice, but the Chair may ask for
a show of hands
• Some votes – e.g., elections of senate officers – are
conducted by secret ballot
• Most votes only require a simple majority of those voting to
pass